Making A House Into A Home

MAKING A HOUSE INTO A HOME--Colossians 3:18-25

Proposition: When Christ is really the Head of the home, each one’s love for the Lord Jesus and love expressed towards others in the family will turn any house into a home because of the attitude of those in the family.

Objective: My purpose is to challenge God’s people to let Christ make their house into a home by trusting and following Him.

INTRODUCTION:

Illus: A man observed a woman in the grocery store with a three-year-old girl

in her basket. As they passed the cookie section, the little girl asked for cookies & her mother told her, "No." The little girl immediately began to whine and fuss, & the mother said quietly, "Now Jane, we just have half of the aisles left to go through - don’t be upset. It won’t be long now." Soon, they came to the candy aisle & the little girl began to shout for candy. When told she couldn’t have any, she began to cry. The mother said, "There, there, Jane, don’t cry - only two more aisles to go & then we’ll be checking out." When they got to the checkout stand, the little girl immediately began to clamor for gum & burst into a terrible tantrum upon discovering there’d be no gum purchased. The mother said serenely, "Jane, we’ll be through this check out stand in 5 minutes and then you can go home & have a nice nap." The man followed them out to the parking lot & stopped the woman to compliment her. "I couldn’t help noticing how patient you were with little Jane. It’s quite commendable," he remarked. The mother replied, "I’m Jane. My little girl’s name is Tammy."

Focus on the Family states: Family is the fundamental building block of all human civilizations. Marriage is the glue that holds it together. The health of our culture, its citizens and their children is intimately linked to the health and well-being of marriage. Illus: Thomas Hassin of Colorado sued his parents for $350,000 for mal-practice of parenting, claiming his parents botched their parenting caused him to need psychiatric help. What is the relationship between the family unit and other societal institutions? Is your family living in a house or a home?

Q. What is the difference between a house & a home? A. The difference is that in a house people live & just stay there but in a home people live by taking care of each other & they are always ready to help each other.

Paul knows that faith in Christ not only changes individuals; it also changes homes. Paul writes to believers & appeals to them to live for Jesus Christ. Also, he states how the renewed life affects the ordinary relationships of the household: wife & husband, children & parent, servant & master. The gulf between the several groups is here bridged by an altogether new understanding of the mutual need of each other & of respect one for another. Running through all he requires is an appreciation of the worth and value of the individual under God which Jesus Christ introduces into the world.

I. LOVE (v. 19) “Love…and do not be bitter”-- In a world where the character-istic role of the husband was one of absolute authority. Paul commands the Christian husband to express tender, wholehearted and sacrificial concern toward his wife. The measure of a man’s love for his wife is not seen only in gifts or words, but in acts of sacrifice and concern for her happiness and welfare.

1. The motive (v. 19a) “Love”— MARRIAGE IS MORE ABOUT GIVING THAN GETTING-- In a world where the characteristic role of the husband was one of absolute authority. Paul commands the Christian husband to express tender, wholehearted and sacrificial concern toward his wife. The measure of a man’s love for his wife is not seen only in gifts or words, but in acts of sacrifice and concern for her happiness and welfare. Present active imperative, “keep on loving.”

2. The manifestation (v. 19b) “your wives”— Husbands must love their wives with tender and faithful affection. Wives, like tender and sensitive flowers, may wilt under authoritarian dominance but blossom with tender loving care. So in a maturing marriage the husband exercises compassionate care and his wife responds in willing submission to this loving leadership.

3. The manner “do not be bitter toward them”—It is sad when one is polite outside the home but are rude and bitter at home. This word used means to make bitter which also means to produce a bitter taste in the stomach. “To embitter” means to render angry, indignant, to be embittered, irritated and to visit with bitterness, to grieve (deal bitterly with. Christian husbands are not to be "bitter" against their wives, thus expressing the absence of all selfishness, ill temper and inconsiderateness from their lives together and proving that a Christ like spirit actuates them.